Now That's What I Call Music

It’s 30 years since the first ‘Now’ compilation album was released.

I’m a huge fan of the compilation album and have several in my music collection.

They range from a vinyl copy of the first Hits album – which I seem to recall featured Kenny Loggins ‘Footloose’ and Laura Branigan ‘Self Control’ – to various tape versions of Hits and Nows from the 1980s, through to recent CD versions which now my daughter proudly owns.

Pre-CDs, I seem to remember that there was always one side of the record or tape which wasn’t as good as the others, where I think they’d included the songs the record companies encouraged them to in order to get the bigger artists.

I know this will seem pre-historic to people who merrily download tunes when they please, but back then it was a great way of getting all the big tunes of the day in one place.

I’d have thought that downloading music would have been the death-knell of the compilation album, but no, thank goodness they’re still going strong.

As the Nows are only available for three years, they become collectors’ items apparently, with early copies being sold on that well-known internet auction site for hundreds of pounds.

There’s a special 30 year edition of Now out on 27 May, featuring supposedly the 'biggest and best' songs from the Eighties, Nineties and Noughties. 

I’ve just checked the track listing, and I like most of them.  There’s always at least one track, though, that makes you wonder why it’s made it on there – is PJ and Duncan’s ‘Let’s Get Ready to Rhumble’ really a classic from the past 30 years?!